


all i want for christmas is you

by thetys



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, They love each other, i mention ruby because how could i not, some insecurities pop up but it's really not that deep!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22167031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetys/pseuds/thetys
Summary: Taeil's lonely. Halfway across the world and on his own, he wishes he had anyone to spend the holidays with.Enter Taeyong, whose only impulse control is halfway across the world and unable to talk sense into him.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Moon Taeil
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47
Collections: NCT Rarepair Winter Bingo





	all i want for christmas is you

**Author's Note:**

> hello wonderful readers!! it's past christmas, but the winter fluff never ends!!
> 
> today's bingo spots: blizzard, cookies, last minute shopping, presents, surprise visits

Amidst the blizzard howling outside, Taeil hummed along with the radio crooned the sweet voice of Mariah Carey as he put the last batch of white chocolate cherry cookies in the oven. On the counters around him, there were already three types, each with their own three-quarter sheet pan. Chocolate crinkles, vanilla wafers, and plain shortbread cookies in the shapes of stars and pine trees ready to be iced filled the kitchen with a myriad of freshly baked scents. It wrapped around Taeil and almost filled the empty void of longing in him.

The holiday season wasn’t about having a significant other, but even a friend would be nice to ease the loneliness. But Taeil’s internship at the Nicollet Cancer Research program in the U.S. meant he was too far away for anyone to come visit, and even Johnny’s family was leaving for South Korea that day. So he stood alone in the apartment he rented for his two-year stay, swaying to “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and eating cookies that he baked far too many of for a single person. He’d probably bring them into the clinic and leave them in the break room for everyone else when he went back on shift. He didn’t know many of them outside of their workspace except May, who was on an internship from Hong Kong, but he didn’t want to call her out of the blue and ask if she was as lonely as he was.

It wouldn’t have been hard to find a club or a bar to sit inside to take away some of the emptiness, but Taeil didn’t feel particularly festive. He spent the next twenty minutes scrolling listlessly through Instagram, liking the pictures of his friends back home as they celebrated with each other and their families. After spending enough time wallowing in his sorrows, he opened his messages up and clicked on his chat with Taeyong. He sent his boyfriend a quick “good morning” text and set his phone aside to pull the cookies out of the oven. Taeil gave them a critical once-over and deemed that they were sufficiently golden-brown and could be pulled out. He wasn’t any sort of baking prodigy, but everyone he knew attested that his cookies were delicious, so he continued to run his baking tests with ever-increasing sample sizes.

His phone lit up with an incoming notification, but Taeil ignored it while he shifted the cookies in the pan to make sure they didn’t stick to the parchment paper. Once he was done with that, he got to work washing the heap of dishes he had piled around the sink. It took him another twenty minutes to scrub the dried dough off the bowls he’d used, and by the time he was done, the world outside had darkened considerably – although that only meant it was around 4:30 pm, and the darkness did nothing to hide the flurries of snow barraging his window. Not too late, but late enough that he could justify eating twenty cookies in a sitting and lazing on his couch until he went to sleep. He swiped a few of his own cookies and put them in a plate for later and got to work boxing the rest.

When he got around to checking his phone, he was surprised to see a whole thirty minutes had passed since Taeyong messaged him back. He hurried to respond with an apology for taking so long until he noticed two things. One, it was 7:42 in the morning in South Korea. Two, Taeyong had replied with “It’s not morning ;).” He stared blankly at his screen, trying to understand the correlation between the two texts. The incoming call that popped up startled him back to reality and he accepted Taeyong’s call with the full intention of grilling him about his texts.

“Taeil-hyung! Did you see my texts?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think you know how time works, Yongie.”

“You’re working under some inaccurate assumptions then, hyung. Maybe you need to reevaluate your hypothesis!” Taeil pinched his eyebrows together at Taeyong’s response and huffed. In the short silence, he heard the wind blowing in the background of Taeyong’s connection.

“Yongie, where are you? The wind sounds strong.”

“Can’t tell you yet, hyung, but I promise I will soon! I need to get the surprise together, and I’ll text you when I’m ready! Bye!” The line cut abruptly and Taeil pulled the phone away from his ear to look at it in confusion. He wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation he’d just had, so he simply locked the screen, picked up his plate of cookies, and sat down on the couch to spend the rest of the night rewatching the first season of Sense8.

He was barely halfway through the third episode when his screen lit up with another text from Taeyong. He paused the scene and opened the message app to see the picture followed by a text. It was a picture of Taeyong in a hall, a red beanie on his head and matching scarf around his neck. His new silver hair peeked out from under the hat and Taeil smiled, wondering if it was still long enough on top to put in a half-ponytail. When he looked behind him, the hall looked suspiciously like the one outside his apartment, but Taeil shrugged off the coincidence. There was no way Taeyong was in his apartment building in Minneapolis right now. At least, that’s what he thought until he looked at the caption.

‘Let me in hyung!!’

Taeil swore he’d never opened his door with that much enthusiasm before. As the picture promised, Taeyong stood on the other side, arms wide open for the anticipated hug and a million-dollar smile gracing his face. He pulled Taeyong in for a soul-crushing hug, giggles escaping him as he rocked them back and forth.

“So it’s a good surprise, huh?” Taeyong asked, kissing the side of Taeil’s head.

“Of course it was! How did you even…,” Taeil pulled himself back so he could gesture aimlessly at the air. Taeyong understood him easily enough anyway.

“Johnny’s family helped me out a little since I’d never traveled to the U.S. before, but I didn’t want you of all people to spend the holidays alone. I wasn’t expecting a blizzard, so I got pretty delayed, but I think it all turned out for the better.”

“I can’t believe you sometimes,” Taeil said, shaking his head incredulously. “Well, don’t just stand there now! Come in, I made cookies earlier and I’m rewatching Sense8.” Taeyong gasps and places a dramatic hand on his chest.

“You were watching Sense8 without me? I thought we had a connection, hyung. I thought you loved me.”

“Get in here, Drama Queen, I’ll show you how much I love you.”

* * *

That’s how Taeil ended up here, with Taeyong’s head in his lap and Sense8 playing quietly in the back. He’d lowered the volume after realizing Taeyong’s jet lag made him crash and fall asleep, and now he’s mindlessly running his hands through Taeyong’s hair as he reads the subtitles on the TV. He’s infinitely grateful that Taeyong had taken the time out of his life to visit him, because even though they’re boyfriends, a three-year relationship, six months of which had been spent in different countries, it didn’t mean Taeyong had to do any of this. The fact that he _did_ sends a rush of warmth through Taeil every time he thinks about it.

The only problem is that Taeyong had let slip he’d brought a few other presents. And all of Taeil’s presents were en route to South Korea. And he would quite possibly feel like the worst human ever if he had to accept everything Taeyong gave him without a single item to give in return.

So he carefully lifts Taeyong’s head onto the couch pillow in place of his lap, rolls his suitcase into his bedroom, and puts his shoes and coat on before slipping out the door. He exhales heavily, pulling the hat down over his ears and preparing to brave the blizzard outside. He’s lucky he has a bus stop on the other side of the street, with a bus that comes every 15 minutes until 6:30, or else the bitter wind would’ve bitten his nose off before he made it down the block.

Half an hour later, he’s standing in the aisles of the nearest Walmart and feeling distinctly untethered from reality. Somehow, time seemed to fracture whenever he entered one of these stores. Sometimes he would start in the dairy aisle and end up halfway across the store near the music albums with absolutely no memory of how he got there or why he wanted to go there in the first place. It was always disconcerting, but today he’s determined to make it through this Walmart without experiencing an acid trip. It only takes a quick detour into the home goods aisle to find exactly what he’s looking for.

When he returns home, he finds Taeyong curled up exactly where he left him over an hour ago. Taeil cries internally over how cute Taeyong’s scrunched nose is, and he takes a picture to commemorate the occasion before he had to wake him up. After he examines the picture and deems it good enough to save, he shakes Taeyong’s shoulder to urge him up. His boyfriend mumbles a typical, “five more minutes,” and even the warning that the couch is the worst object to sleep on in the whole apartment, worse even then the countertops in the kitchen, isn’t enough to get him moving. Taeil resigns to standing there for a good ten minutes before Taeyong makes any plans to move.

Taeyong suddenly jolts upright, and Taeil takes a surprised step back. “Your presents,” Taeyong mumbles blearily, kicking off the blankets wrapped around his legs and stumbling to his feet. “I need to… To give them to you.”

“You can do that tomorrow, Yongie,” Taeil says, trying to placate Taeyong’s mildly wild expression. “Christmas isn’t until the day after.”

“It’s tomorrow,” Taeyong insists. “Today is Christmas Eve.”

“Yongie, we’re in America right now. You flew here, remember? If you want, we can exchange gifts tomorrow, but you have to sleep right now, okay?”

“Presents,” is all Taeyong is able to get out before he falls limply into Taeil’s arms. For a terrifying moment, Taeil thinks he’s about to drop him, because although Taeyong isn’t as heavy as he should be, his dead weight is a little more than his spindly med-student body can handle. Thankfully, he’s able to steady himself – and is faced with the new dilemma of how to move Taeyong. He could put him back on the couch, but that wouldn’t be very courteous. He could _try_ to drag him to the bedroom, but he’s all too familiar with the fact that Taeyong is an incredibly deep sleeper.

With a sigh, he musters the strength to begin hauling Taeyong to the bedroom.

* * *

The dawn of the next day brings weak sunlight through the thick clouds covering the sky, and Taeil has been up for five hours by the time Taeyong wakes up at 11 am. He watches with poorly hidden amusement as his boyfriend drags his feet on his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and accidentally hits the doorframe. He gets a bleary glare when he lets out a snort of laughter, but he eases its ferocity by sending a flying kiss back.

“Eggs?” Taeil offers when Taeyong enters the kitchen, pointing to the leftovers of his breakfast on the stove.

“Not a chance. It’s present time.”

Taeil raises his eyebrows. “You remember that?”

“Of course I do,” Taeyong huffs, wrapping his arms around Taeil’s waist from the back and resting his head on Taeil’s shoulder. “I thought it was a fever dream for a good ten minutes, but I eventually decided it was real.”

“Only you would think of a memory as a fever dream. Alright, let’s do presents.” Taeyong cheers like a child and, with significantly more energy than a few seconds prior, runs and slides into Taeil’s room to pull the gifts out of his bag. Taeil discreetly brings out his own gift from a cupboard and waits for him on the couch. Taeyong returns with a medium-sized bag, although Taeil isn’t fooled. He knows how much Taeyong likes to spend on him, and there’s a lot of things he can fit in a bag that barely fits a small laptop.

Taeyong gives him, in order of most expensive to least: a “seaside woods” scented candle, the limited edition of their friend Donghyuck’s most recent album, maybe twenty different pins and patches for his beloved denim jacket, a navy Louis Vuitton sweater that he would forever be afraid to wear, and a Montblanc watch. Taeil doesn’t have the heart to tell him not to spend so much money on him, especially when he knows it’s Taeyong’s way of showing love; he never knew what to do with all the money he grew up, so he turned to spending it on everyone else. Taeil tries to accept everything with a smile while ignoring the nagging voice of doubt that always tries to drown out his happiness.

“You know, you always show me up with these gifts,” Taeil says, only half-joking, but Taeyong’s hopeful smile falls.

“It’s not about the money, hyung. My favorite gifts have always been the ones you make only for me.” Taeil thinks about the lopsided pot he’d made last year for Taeyong’s birthday and how it’s still proudly displayed in his living room, and the year before when he’d crocheted a blanket for Taeyong’s new puppy, Ruby, to sleep with. It’s enough to alleviate his doubts for now.

“Well, all four of my gifts are somewhere over the ocean right now, so I went out last night to get you a gift for today.”

“Hyung, you didn’t have to do anything like that!”

“Oh, but I did, and it didn’t cost nearly as much as international shipping did,” he responds with a wry smile, shaking his head. “Anyway, I hope you like it. It seemed like exactly something you’d love.” Taeyong takes the gift from Taeil and carefully pulls away the tissue paper. When he sees the outside of the box, he has to stop to rest his forehead in his hand as huffs of laughter escape him.

“You didn’t.”

“I did,” Taeil says cheekily, a self-satisfied smile stretching across his face.

“It’s a rainbow neon light that you bought last night for maybe eight dollars. I could kiss you right now.”

“So do it, coward.”

Amidst the blanket of snow outside, Taeyong pulls Taeil into a kiss full of laughter and smiles. There’s no radio in the background, no plans floating in his head of how to spend the days on his own, and Taeil wouldn’t want to spend the holidays any other way.


End file.
